extra credit assignments:
You can find the instructions to this extra credit opportunity here
Rubric for Part C (Option 1 and Option 3)
Rubric for Part C (PIGSAC aka Rhetorical Analysis)
Here are many resources to gain more learning opportunities to further understand each time period.
Period 1: (1491-1607)
“1941” by Charles Mann. This is about the sophisticated Native American civilizations that were in America before European contact.
“The Pilgrims Should Have Been Thankful for a Spirochete” by Madeline Johnson. This explores how disease played a key role in successful European settlement.
“Native Americans Protest Canonization Of Junipero Serra” by Sylvia Poggioli. This also includes a short radio snippet. This is about the Catholic Church’s 2015 decision to canonize the Spanish missionary is bringing attention to forced conversions of Native Americans.
Sebastian Junger Podcast About Native Americans. This is a fascinating podcast from the Joe Rogan podcast about a multitude of topics. At first it is mostly about Native American culture when Europeans arrived. They also talk about the 2008 financial crisis as well as Junger’s documentary on the Syrian Civil War. But this is mostly about Native American culture.
Period 2: (1607-1754)
“America’s Other Original Sin” by Rebecca Onion. This is about the growing studies of Native American slavery.
“How a Bad Rye Crop Might Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials” by Sam Dean. Title says it all. About the possibility of fungus causing the Salem Witch Trials.
“How the Chicken Built America” by Andrew Lawler. This is about the impact of slave codes.
A New Life
“A New Life” (not sure why it formatted that way) is about how life was so bad for Puritan New England that children who were abducted by Native Americans often refused to come back.
“A Hard Bargain” by Andrew Lipman. This explores an example of an Indian group selling Staten Island (a borough in New York City) and the consequences of that.
“When Massachusetts Banned Christmas” by Christopher Klein. That’s right, Puritans banned Christmas at one point.
“This digital archive of slave voyages details the largest forced migration in history” by BY PHILIP MISEVICH, ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY, DANIEL DOMINGUES, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA, DAVID ELTIS, EMORY UNIVERSITY, NAFEES M. KHAN, CLEMSON UNIVERSITY AND NICHOLAS RADBURN, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. A very good look at slave voyages. Fascinating.
Period 3: (1754-1800)
“The Population of England’s Colonies in America: Old English or the Americans?” by Robert Wells. This is a study of whether the demographics of the colonies were significantly different from the demographics in England. Very useful content as well.
“The Reason Behind the Rhyme: Yankee Doodle” with host Debbie Elliott. This has a listening component as well and talks about what the lyrics mean and has a connection to gender roles of the time.
“The True Cost of the Louisiana Purchase” by Robert Lee (No, not that Robert Lee). A look at the effects the Purchase had on Native Americans.
Use the above two links (the YouTube channel and the lyrics) and listen to ALL the songs and use the assignment to analyze them to our text.
“American Genesis: In treating the founders as holy relics, America forgets they were revolutionaries and risk-takers” by Caroline Winterer. This is an analysis about how uncertain the Founders were that the American experiment would work.
“Now We’ll Finally Get to See the American Revolution Through the Eyes of King George” by Sara Georgini. A fascinating look of the American Revolution through King George’s eyes. Extremely rare.
“The incredible explosion of slavery after 1790” by Victoria M. Massie. The title says it all.
“Sex, Ducks, and the Founding Feud” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about the tension between federalism and states’ rights; Has a lot of good information about James Madison (don’t let the title fool you).
“For decades they hid Jefferson’s relationship with her. Now Monticello is making room for Sally Hemings” by Krissah Thompson. This is about Jefferson’s relationship with his slaves.
Period 4: (1800-1848)
“Kittens Kick the Giggly Blue Robot All Summer” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about Marbury v. Madison
“As Long as Grass Grows or Water Runs” by Howard Zinn. This is an excerpt from A People’s History of the United States about Native Americans during this time period.
“The Intimately Oppressed” by Howard Zinn. This is an excerpt form A People’s History of the United States about women’s rights during this time period.
“Harlan Kentucky: Die Like a Man, Like Your Brother Did!” by Malcolm Gladwell. This is from Gladwell’s book Outliers about the Southern culture of honor.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/opinion/abolitionist-or-terrorist.html?_r=0
.This little New York Times link above is called “Abolitionist or Terrorist?” by Douglas R. Edgerton about Denmark Vesey. Vesey was a black abolitionist who was executed in 1822 for planning a slave rebellion in Charleston, SC. (Right click the logo above and click on “open in a new tab” to access.)
Episode 1 of a Trail of Tears Podcast and Episode 2 of a Trail of Tears Podcast. Listen to both about the Trail of Tears.
“This Interactive Map Reveals the History Of Lynching in America” by Zeba Blay. This shows lynching from the 1830s-1960s.
“How the Gold Rush Led to Real Riches in Bird Poop” by Jackson Landers. Yup. This is about poop.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/opinion/will-mexico-get-half-of-its-territory-back.html
The above article is titled “Will Mexico Get Half of Its Territory Back?” by Enrique Krauze about how in Mexico, the Mexican-American War is not over. Very fascinating.
“The Mysteries of the Masons” by Andrew Burt. This is about the secret brotherhood of a secret society called the “Free Masons”. This talks about how in the 1820s they changed politics.
Political Parties from 1820-1860. Not for extra credit but a very good resource.
Period 5: (1844-1877)
“Did Black People Own Slaves?” by Henry Louis Gates Jr.. This explores slavery in the South.
“Why is James Buchanan considered one of America’s worst presidents?” by Elizabeth Nix.Title says it all.
“Where Will it End? by Edmund Quincy. This is written in 1857 and is a firsthand account of “The Atlantic” urging the North to take a stand against slavery.
“Ought Women to Learn the Alphabet?”. Written in 1859, is a legitimate question on women’s intellectual place in society at the time.
Civil War Spies: Belle Boyd– A podcast about a little known Civil War spy
“Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom” by Howard Zinn. This is an excerpt from A People’s History of the United States about slave resistance.
“The Day Henry Clay Refused to Compromise” by Gilbert King. This is about everyone’s favorite non-President on how when one of his slaves sued him.
“Free Labor and Wage Labor in the North” by John Ashworth. This is an excerpt from The Market Revolution in America: Social, Political, and Religious Expressions, 1800-1800 that explores the economic causes of sectionalism.
“The Law that Ripped America in Two” by Ross Drake. An incite into the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
“President James Buchanan Directly Influenced the Outcome of the Dred Scott Decision” by Kat Eschner. A look at how the president influenced the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision.
“White Southerners Said “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Was Fake News” by Kat Eschner. Kind of an interesting article that relates to present day “Fake News” accusations.
“The Secret History of the Underground Railroad” by Adam Goodheart. Different takes on the Underground Railroad.
“Robert Smalls: The Slave Who Stole a Confederate Warship and Became a Congressman” by Lucas Reilly. Well this is crazy and true.
“Why Was There a Civil War?” by Yoni Appelbaum. This is a reaction to President Trump’s questioning on why the Civil War happened.
“More a Politician Than an “Honest Abe”” by Jackie Mansky This is about the dark parts of Lincoln’s presidency.
“The Civil War’s Most Chicken General” by John Swansburg. This has some Civil War military history we usually do not get to cover. Focuses on Antietam.
“Among the Mormons” by Fitz-Hugh Ludlow. Written in 1864 is about a 19th century writer hanging out with Brigham Young and his thoughts on Mormons.
“The South still lies about the Civil War” by Tracy Thompson. Explores the Lost Cause.
“Why ‘Four Score and Seven Years Ago’?” by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell. This is a rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg Address.
“We Were in Earnest” by James McPherson. This in an excerpt from McPherson’s book For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goFFVg0T4e0
The YouTube video above is a documentary from PBS about the Civil War.
“The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This is a synthesis-heavy look at race relations in America.
Mapping Occupation-an interactive map that tracks Union troop occupation of the South during Reconstruction.
“Ken Burns and the Romance of Reunion” by Eric Foner. From the book Ken Burn’s The Civil War: Historians Respond.
“Confederates in the Attic” by Tony Horwitz. This is about the Lost Cause in the South.
“After Slavery, Searching for Loved Ones In Wanted Ads” by Ari Shapiro and Maureen Pao. Digitized wanted ads of freed slaves looking for their separated loved ones.
“A More Perfect Union?”. A fascinating podcast about Reconstruction. Lots of good stories.
Watch the movies Lincoln and Free State of Jones. For your extra credit response, compare/contrast the two historiographic perspectives. Which perspective do you feel is more accurate?
Period 6: (1865-1898)
“Robber Barons and Rebels” by Howard Zinn. This is an excerpt from A People’s History of the United States.
“Robber Barons and silicon titans” an article related modern barons to back in the Gilded Age
“Little War on the Prairie” by This American Life. This is a podcast about the US-Dakota War
“The Hayes-Tilden Electoral Commission” by James Monroe (No, not that James Monroe). Written in 1876, this is a first hand account of how Congress essentially decided the 1876 election.
“American Football” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about the invention of football and the Carlisle Boarding School for Native Americans.
The above YouTube video is about the Populist Party.
“How Does Populism Turn Authoritarian? Venezuela Is a Case in Point” by Max Fisher and Amanda Taub. This is a synthesis style article relating to modern day Venezuela and their extraordinary problems from Populist beliefs.
23 Disturbing Pictures From When Child Labor Was Legal In America by Gabriel H. Sanchez. This is a Buzzfeed article that shows real pictures of child labor.
“The Grisly Story of America’s Largest Lynching” by Erin Blackmore. This is a story about a huge lynching in New Orleans.
“Studies of Factory Life: The Village System” by Lillie B. Chace Wyman.Written in 1888 is a four part series about American cotton manufacturing from the perspective of people still living in it.
“How the Assassination of James A. Garfield Haunts VA Reform” by Norm Ornstein. How Congress is hard to fix because of Garfields’s assassination.
“The Awakening of the Negro” by Booker T. Washington. Written in 1896, is a firsthand account of Washington’s view of how African Americans can get by in America.
“Strivings of the Negro People” by W.E. Burghardt Du Bois. Written in 1897 by W.E.B. Du Bois, this outlines his account of how African Americans can get by in America.
“The Independence of the Executive” by Grover Cleveland.Written in 1900, this is about how he viewed the history and political deliberations surrounding his former office.
“The Freedman’s Bureau” by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois.Written in 1901, this is Du Bois’ take on the effectiveness of the Freedman’s Bureau.
“The Tragedy And Betrayal Of Booker T. Washington” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. A critical look at criticism of Washington.
“Where Are They Now? Robber-Baron Edition” by Ester Bloom. Interesting look at the financial situation of Gilded Age families-several generations later.
Period 7: (1890-1945)
“Absurd Propaganda Posters Warning Men About the Dangers of Women’s Rights”
“The Heart of the Race Problem” by Quincy Ewing. Written in 1909, this highlights a man’s look into why there is a race problem in America.
“Have You Ever Heard of the Ludlow Massacre?” by Brandon Weber. This is about one of the deadliest labor strikes in U.S. history and it happened in southern Colorado.
“New Yorkers join to remember tragic Triangle Shirtwaist fire” by Ginger Adams Otis. A remembrance of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy.
“Why was the Zimmerman Telegram so important?” by Gordon Corera. An analysis of the impact of the Zimmerman Telegram in WWI.
“World War I’s Native American Code Talkers” by Jesse Greenspan. How Native Americans helped the Allies win WWI.
“From Wristwatches To Radio, How World War I Ushered In The Modern World” by Greg Myre. This shows how WWI technology led to the modern world.
Why Teddy Roosevelt Tried to Bully His Way Onto the WWI Battlefield by Erick Trickey. This shows how Roosevelt supported America’s entry into WWI and how he tried to make it happen.
“The Great Migration: The First Moving-to-Opportunity Project” by Brentin Mock. A study that attempts to see if African Americans from the South did actually put their children in better economic conditions by moving to the North.
“During World War I, U.S. Government Propaganda Erased German Culture” by Art Silverman. A look at how propaganda specifically targeted German culture in America.
“A Key Lesson From The 1918 Flu Pandemic? ‘Tell The Truth,’ One Historian Says”.
“What Germans Said About American Troops Right After WWI” by Nick Greene. A really cool source about how Americans were viewed by the German soldiers.
‘They persisted’: Lessons for today’s activists on centennial of Michigan women’s suffrage’ by Justin A. Hinkley. A look into how women in Michigan fought for suffrage.
“The Supreme Court Ruling that Led to 70,000 Sterilizations” by NPR. This is part of a radio show about eugenics.
“The Horrifying American Roots of Nazi Eugenics” by Edwin Black. This is about American eugenics.
“You’ll never drink again: The real story of Prohibition. Article about Prohibition.
“Woodrow Wilson was extremely racist– even by the standards of his time” by Dylan Matthews. This is a look into the controversy Wilson and college protesters.
“What People Get Wrong about Prohibition” by German Lopez
“In The 1920s, A Community Conspired To Kill Native Americans For Their Oil Money” by Steve Inskeep. Another example of Native American discrimination-to say the least.
“Scottsboro: An American Tragedy” Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ogGwbU43p8
“Scottsboro: An American Tragedy” Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amcT-kbisCs
The above two videos would both need to be watched.
“Nazi Summer Camp” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about prisoner of war camps in the U.S.
“Detroit in the 1940s” by Alan Taylor. The last great era of Detroit.
“How Tokyo Rose Became WWII’s Most Notorious Propagandist” by Evan Andrews. How a Japanese woman became great at WWII propaganda.
“The Daring Photographer Who Captured Life Inside a Nazi Ghetto” by Christopher Klein. Some amazing and crazy stuff about the Nazi ghettos.
Methamphetamine Was the Secret to Hitler’s Blitzkrieg Successes by Philip Perry. An interesting article about the role of meth in Hitler’s strategy to dominate the world.
“I Loved My Grandmother. But She Was a Nazi” by Jessica Shattuck. An interesting look at a family who’s grandparents were Nazis.
“Fu-Go” by Radiolab This is a podcast about Japanese attempts to bomb the U.S.
“Ceremony In San Francisco Marks the 75th Anniversity of the Bataan Death March” by Maggie Penman. A look at the Bataan Death March. A very brutal part of WWII.
“Interactive Map Shows Impact of WWII Firebombing of Japan, if It Had Happened on U.S. Soil” by Alex Wellerstein. This compares the United States firebombing on Japan to what it would be like if it happened to America instead.
“What Dr. Seuss Books Were Really About” by Chris Menning.
“During World War II, the U.S. Saw Italian-Americans as a Threat to Homeland Security” by David A. Taylor. We always hear about the Japanese internment camps, but now how Italian Americans were treated during WWII.
“Haunting Twitter Account Shares the Fates of the Refugees of the St. Louis” by Jason Daley. This documents how the United States turned away Jewish refugees in WWII and the fate of the passengers of the St. Louis.
“What’s the Deal with Waiters Grinding Pepper onto Your Food?” by L.V. Anderson. This details the rise of restaurants in a changing American society.
“Oh! You Kid! How a viral hit from the summer of 1909 changed American pop music forever” by Jody Rosen. This is a story about one of the first pop songs ever.
Period 8 (1945-1980)
“Truman’s Hard Line Prompted the Cold War” by Walter Laferber. An excerpt form Laferber’s book America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-2000.
“Are Baby Boomers A ‘Generation of Sociopaths’?” by Carolyn Gregoire. This is about a controversial book that heavily criticizes the Baby Boomer generation.
“The Price the Hollywood Ten Paid for Refusing to Answer the ‘$64 question'” by Karina Longworth. This has a podcast about the McCarthy hearings.
“The Redacted Testimony That Fully Explains Why General MacArthur Was Fired” by H.W. Brands. New information that shows why Douglas MacArthur was fired during the Korean War.
“A Decade to Make One Proud” by John Patrick Diggins. An excerpt from Diggins’ book The Proud Decades, America in War and Peace, 1941-1960.
“Detroit’s I-375 was a mistake. Here’s what we can learn from it” by Carolyn G. Loh.An account of how highways have changed Detroit neighborhoods.
“Families in the Fifties: The Way We Never Were” by Stephanie Coontz. An excerpt form Coontz’s book The Way We Never Were: American Families in the Nostalgia Trap. Very interesting piece.
“The re segregation of America” by Christopher Petrella.A look into how America has re-segregated itself in a number of different ways.
“How America Built Its Highways to Serve the Wealthy and White” by Eric Avila. A very interesting take on how building interstate highways segregated communities.
“The Role of Highways in American Poverty” by Alana Semuels. An article about how interstate highways directly lead to poverty.
“How the Federal Government Built White Suburbia” by Kriston Capps. This shows how the Federal Government denied opportunities for blacks and protected white-only neighborhoods.
“Four Ways We’ve Distorted The History of the Civil Rights Movement” by Rebecca Onion. This is a debunking of common held myths of the rhetoric of Civil Rights.
What Segregation Looked Like in 1950s Alabama” by Jordan G. Teicher. Very interesting photographs and some analysis of segregation in Alabama.
“Teaching MLK’s Life — The Man, Not the Myth” by Melinda D. Anderson. This is about finding the truth about MLK’s life and looking at all the nuances of his life instead of painting him in a broad brush.
“The Gay Bar: Why the gay rights movement was born in one” by June Thomas. This is about the Stonewall Riots.
“Beyond Stonewall: How Gay History Looks Different From Chicago” by Timothy Stewart-Winter. This is about the growth of gay history as a field of study.
The above is a NY Times article called “The Racist Roots of a Way to Sell Homes” about the racist policies of segregation in terms of selling homes.
“The FBI issued a memo about ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, qualifying it as a communist propaganda” by Stefan A.. A look at 1950s Cold War paranoia with a classic movie.
“Civil Rights Activism, From Martin Luther King To Black Lives Matter”- hosted by Ari Shapiro. This shows the parallels of the Civil Rights Movement to the Black Lives Matter movement.
https://www.wired.com/2015/10/how-black-lives-matter-uses-social-media-to-fight-the-power/
This article is about how the 1960s civil rights activists used technology to pass information.
“It Was like All of Us Had Been Raped”: Sexual Violence, Community Mobilization, and the African American Freedom Struggle by Danielle L. McGuire. Warning: there is swearing, violence, and rape. Not for the faint of hearted.
“James Meredith, Determined to Enroll at Ole Miss, Declares His Purpose in a 1961 Letter” About a black person trying to enroll in a university in the deep South.
“The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit” by Thomas J. Sugrue. About the decline of urban communities starting with Detroit.
“The Truth About Tonkin” by Lieutenant Commander Pat Paterson, Navy. LBJ essentially stated that America was attacked by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. Many believe it was a hoax to get America to start war in Vietnam. This is from a Lieutenant and his take on the matter.
“The Vietnam War: How they saw it from both sides of the divide” by MacKenzie Sigalos. This shows both sides account of the war from their own words.
Episode 1 of “OJ: Made in America”. This is about race in the 1960s and 1970s and how OJ Simpson navigated race in sports.
Episode 2 of “OJ: Made in America”. This is about race problems in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s.
“Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about the Indian Child Welfare Act.
“The Political Thicket” by Radiolab. This is a podcast that explores the Supreme Court’s entry into deciding political questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEA0atGUVpY
The above video is about Watergate.
“‘Richard Nixon,’ Portrait of a Thin-Skinned, Media-Hating President” by Jennifer Senior. A look at Nixon and his actions towards the media.
“The Friends of Richard Nixon” by George V. Higgins. Written in 1974, this looks into how Nixon’s friends may have led to his downfall.
“Sixties Liberalism and the Revolution in Manners” by Kenneth Cmiel. This is part of his book, The Sixties: From Memory to History (How Society Stopped Being Polite).
You can watch any 2 episodes of The Sixties on Netflix
You can watch any 2 episodes of The Seventies on Netflix
Period 9: (1980-Present)
“I Don’t Have To Answer That” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about modern day scandals with politicians.
“America’s Role in El Salvador’s Deterioration” by Raymond Bonner. An effect of America’s role in the Cold War that is still an issue today for many.
“Imperfect Plaintiff” by Radiolab. Podcast about the people behind Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court case that overturned laws criminalizing certain gay activities. It also has some stuff about affirmative action. Warning: very strong content.
“U2 On ‘The Joshua Tree,’ A Lasting Ode To A Divided America” by Steve Inskeep. The band U2’s take on division in America in the 1980s.
Watch any 2 episodes of The Eighties on Netflix.
Venezuela Is Heading for a Soviet-Style Collapse
The above article relates modern day Venezuela to how the Soviet Union collapsed. Synthesis!
“60 Words” by Radiolab. This is a podcast about post-9/11 world of the Authorization of Military Force order that became the foundation for the War on Terror.
“Oklahoma City” Documentary. This is a fascinating documentary about the 1990s neo-conservative movement that led to the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing.
“Everyone Pays a Hefty Price For Segregation, Study Says” by Nick Chiles. This relates back to the Civil Rights Era and shows the price of centuries of segregation on our culture.
“Only in America: Four years into life, poor kids are already an entire year behind” by Roberto A. Ferdman. A look at a very large modern issue of the difference between rich schools and poor ones and their effect on education.
“The Society of Fugitives” by James Forman Jr.. A fascinating article about race and modern urban neighborhoods. You can relate this back to Civil Rights and see if this is what we wanted from the movement.
“The New Suburban Crisis” by Richard Florida. A look at how now there are problems in suburbs.
“3 Border Walls From History and What They Tell Us About Trump’s Proposal” by Philip Perry. A historical look at times there were border walls. This relates to President Trump’s Mexican border wall proposal.
One extra credit opportunity you can do is go to a Dearborn City Hall meeting. You can find those requirements here.
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2015/01/03/robber-barons-and-silicon-sultans